What constitutes 'processed' meat?

Since moving toward a primal/whole foods sort of nutrition plan, I have started to increase the variety of meats I eat. Particularly, I used to only eat eggs for breakfast, but I developed a foods sensitivity to them due to over-consumption. Now I try to rotate ham, bacon (uncured), and turkey breast into my first meal of the day. I don't consume pre-sliced ham or turkey--I buy the actual rump or breast. The ham and turkey have sodium nitrate, but I cant seem to find them in their uncured forms. With this concern over the dangers of processed meats I wonder if these meats I eat are considered 'processed'? Should I be concerned with them?

That depends upon the purity of definition of 'processed'. After the cow or turkey is dead, processed means, essentially, anything done to the meat other than wrapping it. All ham is cured with something. Even freezing can be considered a process by some people.

Sould you be concerned? That depends on you and what kind or degree of 'health' you want. There are a lot of movies out about food production and processing. watch a few.

I take processed meats to mean that it's been treated, cured, or else emulsified and reshaped and pressed together. Unless you have a problem with nitrates, I don't think it's a big deal, but I'd be more concerned about the quality of the original meat.

F 28/5'4/100 lbs

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The "etc" includes brine, which is probably what a whole deli-meat turkey breast most likely is.

If you are really worried about it, you can cook a turkey really easily. It only takes a few hours in the oven. You don't have to put any stuffing or anything in it. Some places you can buy just a big breast or leg just like if it was chicken. Then you can make lots of lunches from it.

For me, a processed meat is anything that isn't just hacked into the appropriate parts and sold by the pound. So anything sold in a deli, or anything with sodium nitrate/nitrite. That said, I like deli, and though I no longer make it 85% of my food (damn you Grok for not eating ham, spam, salami, and bacon), I do indulge. I would watch the additives and make sure you're not sliding back to processed land. If you like turkey breast*, buy an uncooked one, look for a brining recipe online, and make your own. The same can be done with corned beef.

*Didn't see sbhikes' post above.

"Right is right, even if no one is doing it; wrong is wrong, even if everyone is doing it." - St. Augustine